


Parallel Windows

by Minatu



Series: 30 Day Challenge (Zukka) [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And Zuko works at it sometimes, Author!Zuko, Implied/Reference Suicide Attempt, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Iroh has a Tea Shop, Law Student!Sokka, M/M, Not Beta Read, References to Depression, The Gaang plays DnD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:01:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24346180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minatu/pseuds/Minatu
Summary: Every morning, the guy from the apartment across from Zuko's waves good-bye to him.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: 30 Day Challenge (Zukka) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1752778
Comments: 39
Kudos: 804





	Parallel Windows

**Author's Note:**

> Used the OTP challenge [here](https://otp-imagines-cult.tumblr.com/post/133309701572/30daychallenge1). Day 3: The Reveal

Every morning was the same for Zuko. He woke up just as the sun began to rise and dragged himself out of bed before his alarm even had the chance to wake him up. Zuko sat in bed blinking his sleep again and checked the time on his phone. It was 6 A.M. An ungodly hour to be awake when he has work at his uncle’s tea shop at 10. Still, Zuko did his best to not linger by the bed for much longer as it was nothing more than a recipe for disaster to do so. Besides, he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep anyway.

Zuko stretched, relishing in the way his bones popped, and finally stood to pad over to the kitchen, opening the blinds to soak up the first rays of sunshine on his skin. His eyes remained closed as he reached towards the cabinet to pull out a mug and sat it beneath his coffee machine. He opened his eyes again only to fill the machine with fresh coffee grinds and turn it on before returning to the warm sliver of sunlight that poured through the window. 

A few minutes passed, and the coffee machine was roaring with boiling water, and Zuko spotted his neighbor from the building directly across from him rushing through his apartment to start his day. Zuko didn’t know his name, but he was pretty sure his neighbor was perpetually running late, and every day, the guy still stopped to smile and give Zuko a wave before he rushed out the door with a water bottle of instant coffee in hand. Zuko didn’t know if he caught Zuko waving back, but Zuko hoped he did. It was probably a bit weird that Zuko hung onto this little moment each morning, but Zuko didn’t exactly talk to a lot of people. He only helped out in his uncle’s store a couple times a week when he wasn’t busy with writing something. 

Zuko didn’t particularly enjoy enlightening people on his actual job, instead falling to his work at his uncle’s store as his main occupation. When people hear that he’s an author, they think he wrote something like a Stephen King or George R.R. Martin type of novel, but that wouldn’t particularly make any money unless he got lucky. He occasionally considered writing something like that, but he has to pay the bills in the gaps between each serious novel and none of them really took off like that. No, Zuko wrote erotica. He barely scraped by with what he makes, since a lot of the publishing companies changed up a few things, but he managed. And well, Zuko would rather be doing this than running the chance of interacting with anyone in his family that wasn’t his uncle. His father had connections to almost every single other type of trade Zuko might have pursued, and Zuko had stepped down from the line of succession years ago now.

Anyway, Zuko checked the time again with a sigh. The mug in his hands was still warm from the coffee he’d already drank, and Zuko was already feeling tired. As much as he enjoyed sunshine, he hated having to do anything outside of his apartment. He was aware that he might turn into a recluse at any moment if he stopped helping at his uncle’s shop, but he also hated customer service more than anything else. Still, he had to go. Zuko set his mug in the sink and wandered back across the apartment to his dresser and began to get ready.

* * *

“Zuko! It’s good to see you again,” Aang, a regular of his uncle’s shop, chirped, “It’s been, what? Two weeks?” Zuko honestly had no clue when the last time he’d seen the bald man, and he honestly didn’t really try to keep up with it. 

“Sure,” he responded dryly, and Aang seemed completely unbothered by his response. He ordered a small army of drinks for him and some friends that he was meeting up with later, and Zuko honestly had no clue how he managed to end up with all this information about Aang every time he met him. The cheerful guy talked a mile a minute and kept a conversation going all on his own without any input from Zuko at all. It was kind of nice, knowing he couldn’t ruin the conversation no matter what he said. 

Then, as Zuko was handing over the several drinks to Aang, his neighbor appeared. His morning window neighbor. Zuko had never expected that they would ever run into each other anywhere. They had interacted every morning for months, and it hadn’t happened to date. Zuko was so surprised that he almost dropped one of the paper cups. 

“You need help with those, buddy?” he spoke directly to Aang and hadn’t even noticed Zuko yet. Zuko was hoping he wouldn’t with how his face was now flushing at the narrowly avoided incident. He almost made a complete fool of himself in front of the handsome, sort of(?) stranger. 

“That would be great!” Aang responded brightly, “Thanks, Sokka.” Zuko set the last set of drinks on the counter for Aang and quickly retreated before what he assumed would be a very awkward conversation could happen. In his mind, he repeated the name  _ Sokka _ to keep a hold of it. 

“Thanks again, Zuko!” Aang called as he and Sokka turned to leave. Zuko looked back at them to respond, since he would rather not be rude.

“Yeah, no problem,” he said in a soft voice, to which Aang just smiled. It was then that Sokka noticed him. His bright, blue eyes went wide, and he looked like he was starting to say something, but Aang distracted him and led him out. Zuko felt both disappointed and relieved. 

* * *

Another week passed, and Zuko’s numbers were up from the month before which was nice. He could add just a couple hundred bucks to his savings. He looked to the meager amount he had in there. He never had enough for any sort of emergency to happen, but if he wanted something nice he could... well, consider it. Zuko laid his head on his desk. He was tired. He had spent the last several days in a frenzy trying to get ahead of his publishing schedule while the words were just flying onto the screen. He would maybe be okay for a week, but he was getting into a bit of a slump. He could feel it. Zuko wondered if he should take some time off and work more at his uncle’s shop until he was feeling better. 

Zuko pushed away from the computer and paced around the small apartment, considering banging his head into the wall a couple of times to get some sort of relief from his mania. He had too much energy to sit or focus. He padded back and forth in front of the window. He had shut the blinds hours ago as he always did when he was working. Zuko paused for a moment considering them before finally opening the window slowly to stare out of it. Sokka’s window was closed. Zuko didn’t know why, but he was somewhat disappointed to not see the other guy there.

He began to pace again. His cat sat on one of his shelves on top of books Zuko never read but kept telling himself he would. Her bright green eyes followed him as he moved back and forth, occasionally pulling at his hair with aggravated noises. Zuko knew he was spiraling. He knew that this extended period without going outside wasn’t doing him any good, but as he struggled to breathe and felt the weight of his own useless existence press down on him, he couldn’t even consider helping himself. 

Instead, Zuko found himself thinking about his dad, who he could never impress. He had always wanted to. He tried with all his might, taking business classes in college and disregarding his own interests again and again until all he had left was a meager shell of himself and was stuck in a hospital for weeks wearing non-slip socks that didn’t fit anyone right and sitting with a group of other empty-eyed individuals who felt something like what he did. Zuko liked to think he was doing better now, no longer talking to or working for his father who only exacerbated his problems. Sometimes though, he wasn’t so sure. 

Zuko pressed the burning heels of his palms to his eyes, wiping at the crust that had gathered there from staring at a computer screen for hours on end. Zuko finally decided to take a shower and then throw himself into bed. Today’s problems would have to be worked on tomorrow. 

* * *

Zuko was at his uncle’s shop at an unusually late hour. One of his uncle’s employees had suddenly quit on him, and Zuko was asked to pick up the slack until he found a replacement. Zuko wasn’t good at denying his uncle’s requests, so here he was. It was even worse because he was the only one manning the store. The whole thing was making him anxious in ways he didn’t even want to begin to talk about, even if the place was slow this late into the afternoon. Zuko glanced at the clock on the wall.  _ Two more hours _ , he reminded himself as if the constant reminder would somehow soothe his nerves.

The bell on the front door rang, and in walked Zuko’s neighbor... Sokka. Zuko wanted, just a little bit, to crawl under the counter and pretend he wasn’t there. Instead, he stood there and gave his best fake smile, running over the standard lines in his head to calm himself down. 

“Welcome,” Zuko said in a cheery voice that never really felt like it was him speaking, “What can I get started for you today?” Zuko could feel his eyebrow twitch uncomfortably when Sokka gave him a bewildered look. 

“I never really pinned you as a minimum wage employee,” Sokka commented, instead of ordering, and there was no one else in the store, so Zuko dropped the smile with a sigh.

“And yet here I am,” Zuko deadpanned, and Sokka smiled a little in response. His eyes flicked up to mull over the menu.

“I actually come here all the time, and never saw you a single time,” Sokka commented, leaning onto the counter and pushing a little into Zuko’s space. Zuko took the smallest step back.

“I’m not a full-time employee,” Zuko responded, “Did you figure out what you’re ordering?” He glanced at the time again. It was still way too long before closing. 

“Hmmm... probably Lapsang Souchong,” Sokka answered after a long moment. Zuko released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and punched the order in.

“So, what do you do outside of the tea business... Zuko?” Sokka asked, eyes running over the golden nametag on his apron. Zuko frowned slightly, thinking of ways to answer that wouldn’t encourage Sokka to pry more. 

“Nothing much,” he finally answered, shrugging his shoulders lightly and watching the water come to a boil. Knowing Sokka was likely to try and ask another question, Zuko forced himself to ask Sokka one himself, “And what do you do... outside of pestering strangers?” The comment was probably a little mean, but it got a chuckle out of Sokka, so he supposed it was fine. 

“I’m in law school,” Sokka answered, and that caught Zuko by surprise. Sokka didn’t exactly look like someone who had been in school for a long time, especially with the way he rushed out in the mornings in a tracksuit and a bag slung over his shoulder. He looked more like someone’s personal trainer than the studious type though who was Zuko to judge. He probably didn’t look like he wrote steamy novels for money.

“Oh?” was all Zuko managed to reply with. He had no clue what he was supposed to say to that. He poured the tea into a paper cup slowly, the smoky pine scent flooding his nostrils. Zuko always liked the smell of this tea, even if he wasn’t a huge fan of tea as a whole. It took a lot more effort to prepare than coffee. Sokka was eyeing Zuko curiously as Zuko brought the cup over to him. 

“This is probably a little weird to say, but would you like to come play DnD with me and some friends next week?” Sokka finally spoke, and Zuko was surprised by the question. He stared up into Sokka’s blue eyes for a moment, considering. Zuko was certainly tempted. He wanted to know more about Sokka, and it wasn’t only because Sokka was attractive or the window guy anymore. Something else was stirring in him when he saw those deep, ocean colored eyes. 

“May... maybe,” Zuko stuttered, tearing his eyes away from Sokka’s and blushing because he had been  _ staring _ . Sokka merely chuckled in response to clear the awkward air, plucking the pen off of Zuko’s apron and jotting his number down on the napkin.

“Just,” he breathed, considering Zuko for a moment again, “Just give me a text if you’re interested, and I’ll tell you the when and where.” Zuko took the napkin and gave a small nod before tucking it away into his pocket. His cheeks were still warm with a blush when Sokka disappeared out the front of the shop with a final wave.

* * *

Zuko honestly had no clue what he was doing. He shouldn’t have contacted Sokka at all. Was it just curiosity? He was lamenting every moment that led up to him standing in front of a door that mirrored his own on the opposite side of the street. The buildings were surprisingly similar, though Zuko was pretty sure his was a little more outdated than this one. Zuko finally swallowed his nervousness enough to knock. The door opened almost instantly, to reveal Sokka’s bright, smiling face.

“Hey! You’re early!” Sokka said, but from his tone, Zuko’s early arrival wasn’t a problem for him. Sokka let Zuko pass into the bright apartment. There were two people already lounging on Sokka’s couch, one of which Zuko recognized as Aang. The other person was a girl who looked similar to Sokka, so much so that he wondered if they were related but wasn’t sure if he could ask.

“Hey, Zuko!” Aang greeted him with a bright grin. Zuko gave an awkward wave in response, finding his voice was gone from his throat. The girl stood to greet him, holding her hand out as she spoke.

“Nice to meet you, Zuko. I’m Katara,” she said. 

“...nice to meet you,” Zuko responded, his voice barely there. He was starting to think he should try to leave as soon as possible. This was all getting to be a little too much for him, and he’d only been there a few minutes. Katara seemed unbothered by how quiet he was, and Sokka swooped in, slinging his arm around Zuko’s shoulders and surprising him.

“Let me know if my sister ever bullies you,” Sokka said with a laugh, likely making fun of how awkward Zuko was being. Before he even had the chance to speak up, Katara leveled Sokka with an admonishing look.

“You’re more likely to do that than me with your bad jokes,” she responded, and Sokka winced like she’d punched him.

“My jokes are amazing, Katara. You just don’t have any taste,” he replied. The both of them still had good natured smiles on their faces, and Zuko felt a little caught in between their banter though he was relieved to not be the center of attention anymore. A knock sounded on the front door, interrupting Sokka and Katara eventually, and two more girls entered, which Sokka introduced as Toph and Suki. The two had brought drinks with them, and eventually the group moved to sit at the table, pulling out character sheets and dice. Katara set up a board to hide all of her papers and dice from sight, and Zuko was starting to feel nervous again. He had never really played any type of game before, much less something that seemed as complicated as this one. Sokka had helped him make a character over the upcoming days (an elven rogue), but Zuko still didn’t really understand what he was supposed to do with any of the information in regards to the game. 

He soon found it didn’t matter as Katara had recounted their previous week’s adventures and made an opportunity for Zuko’s character to show up after he had seen them play a few rounds to get to a new town. Whenever Zuko was confused or lost, someone was more than happy to explain to him, and he was finding it to actually be kind of...  _ fun _ . Something he hadn’t particularly expected from being surrounded by a bunch of people he didn’t really know, but he was glad he knew them now. 

Eventually they wrapped things up for the evening, Toph and Suki were the first to leave. Zuko followed soon after, tired out from all the interacting with people and now that someone else had left, he felt like he could too. The other three didn’t stop him though they did mention that they hoped to see him again next week, and Zuko felt like he might actually go again.

* * *

“I hope you don’t mind me dropping in like this, Zuko,” Iroh spoke. He sounded weary from the plane ride, and Zuko never really minded when his uncle dropped in. Even if that did mean he was sleeping on his couch for a few days. 

“It’s fine,” Zuko responded. He glanced at his calendar and wondered if he would have to cancel on the group this weekend. He didn’t really want to. He was having a lot of fun, and he was starting to feel like he actually had friends. 

“How have you been lately?” Iroh asked, looking at Zuko’s face intently for a moment, “You look better.” Zuko smiled slightly at the words. He had been feeling a bit lighter lately.  _ Friends _ . It was a nice word.

“Yeah,” Zuko responded, “I’ve made some friends, I think.” He scratched his cheek lightly just below the scar on his face. It didn’t actually itch, but was more of a leftover habit from when he first got it. Sometimes it still felt like it did.

“That’s great,” Iroh grinned widely at him, setting his luggage on Zuko’s couch and wrapping him up in a bear hug. Zuko laughed slightly, hugging his uncle back awkwardly. Zuko let his uncle get settled in while he went back to editing one of his short stories for publishing. When Iroh was done, they chatted for a while getting caught back up on what was happening with each other, and Zuko started feeling a little more at ease. Even though his uncle was staying with him, Zuko didn’t end up seeing him all that much since he was busy with inspecting the tea shop and other things. 

One particular evening, Zuko was sitting alone with his thoughts and something random from Netflix playing on the TV for white noise when someone knocked on his door. Zuko wrapped his robe a little tighter around himself as he shuffled over to the door, peeking through the little hole for just a moment before opening it.

“Sokka?” Zuko said in confusion. Sokka beamed at him in response.

“I knew you’d be all alone and watching something boring tonight!” Sokka responded with a proud tone. Zuko chuckled nervously at the insinuation that he had no life, not that Sokka was really even wrong. 

“So?” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest, and Sokka paid no mind to him, pushing his way in the door.

“So, I knew you could use some company to liven things up!” he answered in a cheerful tone, “Plus, I was bored.” Zuko shut the door behind him with a sigh. Even though he wouldn’t usually admit it, he really enjoyed Sokka’s surprise visits. 

“My uncle’s staying with me this week, so you can’t crash here,” Zuko warned as Sokka pulled open his fridge to check out what Zuko had in it. 

“Your uncle owns the place you work at, right?” Sokka asked, but it wasn’t really a question and more of a confirmation. Zuko nodded in response, and Sokka pulled out one of the cans of beer that Zuko had bought specifically for him when he was over, not that Sokka needed to know that. Zuko almost blushed at the thought. 

“Cool,” Sokka beamed at Zuko and plopped down on the couch and changed the show quickly. Zuko followed after him, sitting close but not too close to Sokka. At least, he hoped he put the right amount of distance between them. It didn’t matter in the end though because they were soon shoulder to shoulder. They sat mostly in silence. Zuko wasn’t as particularly drawn into the movie as Sokka, but it gave him the chance to sneak glances at Sokka, who he was becoming hopelessly attracted to at this point. 

The feeling had honestly snuck up on him. Usually he only liked people momentarily, like he found them attractive but anything beyond that was impossible for him. Zuko wasn’t a big fan of being touched by other people usually, but for some reason, he just kept letting Sokka invade more and more of his space without batting an eye. His apartment had small changes here and there that spoke of the many times that Sokka had stayed over and left something behind. They never really did anything, but Zuko sometimes wondered if there could be... something more. 

The credits to the movie rolled, and Sokka stared at the screen for a moment longer before looking over at Zuko, their eyes meeting. Neither one of them said anything for a long moment, Sokka taking in the open expression on Zuko’s face, eyes passing over the scar that he sometimes wondered about but didn’t have the nerve to ask about. Zuko didn’t know if he was capable of tearing away from the intense gaze that Sokka had him under, his cheeks flushing with heat. He was embarrassed that he’d been caught staring, but still, he managed to meet Sokka’s gaze. A long moment passed between them. 

Sokka’s fingertips grazed along Zuko’s sharp chin, and a sharp intake of breath tore through Zuko’s lungs. He shuddered, leaning into the touch for just a moment. The both of them were much closer than they were just moments before. Zuko could smell the beer on Sokka’s breath, and his chest squeezed tight with hope. Hope that what he thought was about to happen would. Sokka’s warm lips pressed against Zuko’s, and a trill ran down Zuko’s spine. One kiss quickly turned into two, Sokka’s hands finding the nape of Zuko’s neck and curled into the black silk he found there, pulling Zuko in closer. Zuko nearly fell forward into Sokka with the force of his pull, drawing the two of them closer and closer until Zuko was practically on top of him. A place that Zuko hadn’t exactly expected to be in. 

Sokka’s tongue slipped along Zuko’s lips, making him tremble and gasp. The sound of his own voice surprised him, but even more so, the feeling of Sokka’s tongue pressed against his own had him losing all coherent thought. His hands were pressed against the couch behind Sokka to hold himself up, but his elbows trembled as Sokka found new ways to make Zuko gasp with his tongue. Zuko had never really kissed anyone like this, and his stomach was doing somersaults. 

“Zuko, you should have told me you were having company over,” Iroh spoke from the front door, where he could probably see the two of them. Zuko jumped up and away from Sokka faster than he thought possible, looking over at his uncle with wide eyes and bright, bright red. He was blushing harder than Sokka had ever seen before. Sokka looked over at the older man, and since it was obvious they’d been caught he just rolled with it.

“I surprised him,” Sokka responded with an apologetic smile. Iroh nodded slightly, continuing to make his way into the apartment. Zuko looked like he was currently going through the seven stages of grief, and Sokka reached over to gently rub his back in hopes that it would help. It did. Somehow Iroh roped Sokka into staying a little longer to play a round of pai sho before finally heading out to his apartment. Zuko was pretty sure he hadn’t said more than five words the whole time.

“I like him,” was all his uncle said before heading to bed, and leaving Zuko to his thoughts.

* * *

Zuko wasn’t sure if he was supposed to bring up their kiss, or if it had been one of those drunk accidents. He hoped it wasn’t, but he was forcing himself to become more and more okay with the idea. Sokka, after all, seemed pretty relaxed about the whole romance thing, considering he’d dated both Suki and Toph at some point and yet they had all managed to stay friends... so maybe Sokka just sometimes kissed his friends, yeah. Zuko wasn’t sure what Sokka would see in him anyway. He was gloomy and anti-social, and Sokka was decidedly neither of those things. 

Things were winding down after their game, and Toph and Suki were saying their good-byes when Sokka cornered Zuko a little bit away from everyone. Zuko had a feeling it was because he usually left after the other two did, but he didn’t have a clue what Sokka might need from him.

“About the other night,” Sokka started, looking a bit uncomfortable. Zuko felt surprised that Sokka was even mentioning it. It had been well over a week since then, and there had been more than one opportunity for it to come up, but it hadn’t so Zuko had assumed that it didn’t need to be... well, talked about.

“It’s fine,” Zuko responded, blushing and not quite meeting Sokka’s eyes. He missed the frown on Sokka’s face when he said that.

“Listen,” Sokka started again, not letting Zuko side-step the conversation, “I want that to be more than a one time thing... if that’s alright with you.” Sokka rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, looking like he might be a little embarrassed about what he was saying, but now Zuko was just redder.

“Um, oh- ok,” Zuko stumbled over his words in his excitement. He definitely wanted whatever was going on between them that evening to continue. It had been amazing, and Zuko would not turn down such a golden opportunity again. 

“Oh, good,” Sokka breathed a sigh of relief, “We should figure out what to do for a first date then.” Zuko was suddenly taken aback. Date? 

“Wait, you want to date me?” Zuko asked slowly, almost afraid to even ask. Sokka looked a little surprised by the question.

“That’s what I just asked, didn’t I?” Zuko blushed and looked down at the floor. Sokka chuckled softly, cupping Zuko’s chin and pulling him up to meet Sokka’s pretty, blue eyes. 

“You’re cute,” was all he said before pressing a soft kiss to Zuko’s lips.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm having a lot of fun with this challenge so far! Here's to hoping I keep going.


End file.
